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Closing Pool -- Can I use ClearView quat power?

As usual, I am running behind on getting the pool closed. I went to the local pool store and asked for PolyQuat and they sold me ClearView "quat power" which is obviously not the same (it is 49% Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and 0.2% Dialkyl methyl benzyl ammonium chloride). "Alkyl" is listed as 60% C14, 30% C16, 5% C12, and 5% C18. "Dialykl" is listed as exactly the same!

I really want to close and am not sure I can wait to order PolyQuat. So what bad things can I expect if I use this? I've been using BBB for several years with great results, but when I opened this year, I had brownish algea.

And, honestly, if you super-shock the pool and eliminate ALL algae before covering, you can usually avoid any problems in the spring if

you use a waterproof, light-tight cover AND

shock the pool IMMEDIATELY on un-covering the pool.

There's also a tactic you can use to eliminate algae if you have resistant algae:

Go ahead and cover -- but do not CLOSE -- your pool.

Open the cover on a corner or side, so it can 'vent'.

Add chlorine to 25% - 40% of your CYA (stabilizer) level (ie, a CYA=100 ppm means a chlorine level of at least 25ppm), and keep it there for a week.

Usually, this will clear things up, since you aren't losing chlorine to sunlight. But, yoiu'll need a K2006 or equivalent, if you don't already have one, to determine and measure proper chlorine levels. You can uncover the pool enough to drop chlorine levels down to 10 - 15% before actually closing. But, without actually knowing your CYA levels, I can't offer any ideas about timing or the like.

Re: Closing Pool -- Can I use ClearView quat power?

Thank you Doc!

The only algae problem I have ever had was opening this season. I did not use PolyQuat when I closed last season and I probably let the chlorine go too low before putting the cover on. This is something that has always confused me. Are you supposed to wait until FC drops to a certain level before putting the cover on to avoid damaging the cover?